Publication
Gutenberg,
Series
Status
Available
Description
Classic Literature. Juvenile Fiction. HTML: Pollyanna Grows Up is the first sequel to Pollyanna, and the only one written by Porter herself. Numerous following sequels have been written by various authors. Pollyanna's crippling spinal injury has been cured, and she begins to teach a new town the "glad game". She makes many friends and two of her childhood friends, Jimmy and Jamie, court her. Jimmy is an energetic, healthy young architect and Jamie is a crippled literary genius. Jimmy also discovers secrets of his past..
User reviews
LibraryThing member edwinbcn
In 1915, Eleanor Porter published a sequel to her bestseller Pollyanna. It seems that in Pollyanna grows up she wanted to retain the elements that made the original book so successful, while overhauling the story with many new elements and characters.
Overall, the plot of Pollyanna grows up seems
Although supposedly Pollyanna grows up to about the age of 20 by the end of the story, her behaviour and mindset remain largely characterised by the naivete and childishness of the original novel. The suggestion that old Mr Pendleton, aged 70 or thereabouts, might marry her, seems very peculiar.
Both volume one, Pollyanna, and volume two, Pollyanna grows up, end in a low key. Towards the end of Pollyanna, the main character is hit by a car (probably still a novelty in 1913), and by the end of Pollyanna grows up, the character Jimmy Bean is troubled by his lowly class background.
As in the original novel, Eleanor Porter, makes the oblique suggestion that people should not think too much about money, and that losing all one's money, can never be the worst thing to happen in one's life (p. 376).
While the original Pollyanna was a bestseller and inspired many people, the word Pollyanna has slipped into the language with a negative connotation as an excessively or blindly optimistic person while pol·ly·an·na·ish has come to mean unreasonably or illogically optimistic.
These negative connotations may suggest that there is a limit to how much optimism the reader can stomach.
Overall, the plot of Pollyanna grows up seems
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very contrived. Towards the end of the original Pollyanna, the little girl had managed, single-handed, to turn a whole, gloomy community to happiness. Therefore, in Pollyanna grows up, the tonic of Pollyanna's infectuous optimism, must be sprinkled over a new set of gloomy characters, which she encounters on a visit, replacement of characters who die off and boarders moving into her home. Many plot situations are the inverse of elements from the original story. The story feels contrived and lacking the spontaneity of the first volume.Although supposedly Pollyanna grows up to about the age of 20 by the end of the story, her behaviour and mindset remain largely characterised by the naivete and childishness of the original novel. The suggestion that old Mr Pendleton, aged 70 or thereabouts, might marry her, seems very peculiar.
Both volume one, Pollyanna, and volume two, Pollyanna grows up, end in a low key. Towards the end of Pollyanna, the main character is hit by a car (probably still a novelty in 1913), and by the end of Pollyanna grows up, the character Jimmy Bean is troubled by his lowly class background.
As in the original novel, Eleanor Porter, makes the oblique suggestion that people should not think too much about money, and that losing all one's money, can never be the worst thing to happen in one's life (p. 376).
While the original Pollyanna was a bestseller and inspired many people, the word Pollyanna has slipped into the language with a negative connotation as an excessively or blindly optimistic person while pol·ly·an·na·ish has come to mean unreasonably or illogically optimistic.
These negative connotations may suggest that there is a limit to how much optimism the reader can stomach.
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LibraryThing member tjsjohanna
I have to say that I didn't find Pollyanna as charming in this novel. Although Ms. Porter attempts to show that Pollyanna has become more aware of her effect on people, she comes across as unforgivably naive about the conflicting feelings of adults at a time when she is actually experiencing those
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feelings. And all the romantic confusions were silly. No real people would be so blind. The impact of Pollyanna's "glad game" loses it's power in this followup. Too bad. Show Less
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1915